The Gentoo Thread

[su root]

Yeah, it's much better than the RPM system. However, it's not a long term solution. Linux needs some kind of standard installer like Windows.

RPM was a shot at a standard install program, and it works pretty good, except if there is dependancies. There are several flavours of linux that support RPM (and others you can port RPM to, incl. FreeBSD). Unfortunately, RPMs are not good for your system unless they are built for your system. For something to be a standard, it has to compile all the programs before installing.

I think that the portage/ports tree (freebsd) are good ideas. The emerge/pkg_add -r (freebsd)/others, i think, have the right idea. There's something to be said about being able to say "install this", and having your computer download it, all it's dependancies, compile and install it. (very windows-like). However, this requires oodles of bandwidth, and if the mainstream windows users jumped onboard, i doubt the emerge & pkg_add or the portage servers would keep afloat.

emerge kde
"whoops" isn't the word for it. esp. when I forgot to install X first

 

[XWRed1]

Windows has a standard installer? All I can think of is MSI and that is relatively new, and still not as all encompassing as the likes of Apt, Portage, or Ports.

 

[kevmarks]

Yes, like the MSI system. Emerge is very good though. It's fast an easy. Even configured Mplayer with --enable-gui for me without even asking. (Well I forgot to ask ).

Pretty happy with both my Gentoo systems, My Gentoo system + ReiserFS is much faster than my old Redhat Ext3 system. Gentoo has been up about a month on my firewall, so it seems pretty stable Not that I expected anything less.

 

[Daemonfly]

I'm just waiting for the new version to be released Shouldn't be too long.

 

[KraziKid]

I wanted to give gentoo a try, but when I was at the first step (loading network modules), it didn't have my network modules for my NIC's (8139too and natsemi). Does anyone know a way that I can set this up?

<EDIT>After reading some things. I found out that those two modules are actually compiled into the kernel. That's fine. but when I run net-setup eth0, nothing happens. It does not configure my ehternet. I also tried dhcpcd eth0, and that did nothing also.</EDIT>

 

[Malakai]

hehe, I happen to remember what to do here:

$ ifconfig eth0 *your ip here* broadcast *your broadcast here* subnet *your subnet here*

thats for manual, i dont use DHCP I have a LAN, so i dont know what to do there.

Print the installation and vi manuals from www.gentoo.org .

they are nice and short not 100's of pages, and help IMMENSELY with the install process.

 

[KraziKid]

I did print the installation manual. And I tried it using the instructions. I tried DHCP, no go either way, and I tried stati with the last IP my ISP gave me, and still did not work. So, I still require help.

 

[KraziKid]

I did print the installation manual. And I tried it using the instructions. I tried DHCP, no go either way, and I tried stati with the last IP my ISP gave me, and still did not work. So, I still require help.

Bump, does anyone have any help for me?

 

[Daemonfly]

Have you tried the Gentoo forums?

 

[Audioaficionado]

I'm very interested in Gentoo too. (say that several times real fast)

The instructions look good but there's a lot of references to basic command lines a newbie like me wouldn't know. So I'd better look 'em all up and insert into the instructions before attempting an install.

My sig box would be out of commission for the better part of a week doing a stage one install. The bootstrap alone would take over a day.

I should have the best performance possible for a linux install since this is optimized for my system and hardware.

I may start with Libranet and test out some Linux packages first. But Gentoo keeps calling me.

1) Can you compile for SMP from the get go or do you have to recompile later?

2) Is 'vi' the best text editer?

3) Lastly, Since I can never boot from CD-ROM (bios issue) is there a good general Linux floppy with CD-ROM driver support or can I just start the Gentoo live CD through an initail DOS boot?

 

[su root]

Originally posted by Audioaficionado
Is 'vi' the best text editer?

That depends on who you are talking to. Personally, I like VI, but PICO is so much easier to use, so i usually end up using that one.

I would check the CDRom for a boot loader there, you may be able to boot off a dos floppy w/ cdrom drivers, then run loadlin or the like. (I don't have the gentoo cdrom around, otherwise I would check myself)

 

[KraziKid]

I personally like the emacs text editor the best.

 

[Malakai]

I've just been using vi. I didn't know there were easier ones, so I learned the basic's of vi.

I might try out pico, but so far I haven't noticed vi as being "hard", you just need to learn the commands.

Why are we using linux if not to learn new stuff?

 

[Audioaficionado]

I used vi a bit when I was employed as a Valor CAM operater tooling circuit boards a few years ago. Unix was the OS we used with Valor. The Gentoo site has a very nice tutorial page for vi. 'man' was a real cool feature too when you got stumped about a command.

 

[su root]

Once you know your way around a text editor, your golden. I find that it's best to know VI anyway, as it is the most likely text editor to be on a system. VI PICO EDED and EMACS are the top 4 most known editors. Watch out though, on most linux systems, you are actually using VIM when you type VI. The first time you actually get thrown into the real VI, you'll know it. (VIM stands for VI iMproved)

 

[Daemonfly]

I don't like Vi, but then again, I've rarely used it & don't know it well. I liked Nano on the Gentoo install. Simple text editor, nothin fancy.

 

[su root]

NANO is basically the same as PICO. The first time i've ever seen it was while installing gentoo.

 

[Audioaficionado]

the binaries don't magically become any more optimized when you do it yourself unless you use optimized gcc flags, which I think alot of people overlook since they never mention them.

http://gcc.gnu.org/

According to this, you don't automaticly get a fully processor optimized kernel in Gentoo unless you use optimized gcc flags while compiling during the install.

What's the point of a stage one install if this isn't done too?

Lastly, how would an average Gentoo Linux user insure the installation is fully optimized? In my first reading of the install instructions, I didn't see it mentioned, but I could have missed it.

 

[Richard]

I think they neglected to mention it because by default they're already using a very good balance of performance and stability in their optimizations. The last thing they need is a bunch of people using agressive flags and exclaiming "Gentoo sucks"!

More agressive settings (especially on something like KDE) will render the software near useless. I'd be very careful with fooling with GCC flags.

 

[Audioaficionado]

I think they neglected to mention it because by default they're already using a very good balance of performance and stability in their optimizations. The last thing they need is a bunch of people using agressive flags and exclaiming "Gentoo sucks"!

More agressive settings (especially on something like KDE) will render the software near useless. I'd be very careful with fooling with GCC flags.

I wasn't thinking of the most aggressive settings for the flags but having more optimized gcc flags if that's possible with gentoo. XWRed1 indicates it isn't automatic during the gentoo installation process but you have to command gentoo for the optimization.

Well, its not just that the programmer needs to know about them. When people are making arguments for and against Gentoo, specifically the optimization one, they need to keep this in mind. Unless you actually tell it to optimize, its not going to -- its going to be as optimized as normal binaries from any other distro. Its not some magical thing that intuits the features of your processor and adjusts accordingly.